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The best part of life

William Shakespeare’s renowned lines about “All the world’s a stage…” from ‘As You Like It’ depict the true portrayal of a person’s life.

Preeti Panwar
Almost everyone has read the greatest English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare’s renowned lines about “All the world’s a stage….” from ‘As You Like It’. They depict the true portrayal of a person’s life in the form of a play and the world as a stage. The first stage is when a child is born; he is free like a bird. He just looks at the new world with his tiny eyes and his fists are closed tightly. He is unknown to the harsh realities of life. Then, gradually he turns into a toddler and learns basic expression like laughing and starts recognizing his family members. Here, at this stage, the child learns to utter small words which creates a platform for him to develop his communication skills and prepares for his journey of life. Next comes the childhood stage wherein the child takes the role of a student for around fourteen years like Lord Ram’s exile. At this point of time, the child’s social circle begins to grow. The next stage in this chronology brings a sea change into the person’s life. Here the person in his youth works towards earning a living and gaining recognition. Then comes the phase of matrimony or a lover’s stage. Here the person is blessed with a life partner who shares all the joys and sorrows and becomes an inseparable part of his life. After passing through so many stages, the person inculcates the power of justice with his vast experiences and acquires wisdom. Then, when he gets older, the person becomes quite detached from the materialistic world and starts hunting for spirituality growth which comes from inner peace. All the stages conclude with death before which a person behaves in a childish manner and needs others’ support. So, the entire life of a person passes while playing numerous roles. Different people handle these roles in their own unique way. Among all the above mentioned stages, the adolescence seems to be the most cherished time of our life. We all love, enjoy and remember these crucial moments of our lives. Whatever we become, wherever we may reach and whenever we feel low, we are compelled to go in a flashback and re-live these most treasured and beautiful moments of our life. However high we may soar, but we never forget this platform. The decade of twenties are spent in trying to get out of home and chart one’s own path in life. At this stage, we feel at our peak as we stride out confidently to conquer the world with all the arrogance of youth. I am sure that everyone has a favourite decade, depending on their stories of life. There are some who yearn for their early years, nursing rose-tinted memories of an idyllic childhood. There are a few who actually enjoyed their adolescence enough, despite the tension of acne and dating disasters to vote for it as their best time ever. Those days were really golden days of our lives and will always remain fresh in our minds. For instance, on occasions like Teacher’s Day, there is an inner urge to visit your school or college and meet your teachers. If you have a slam book which you got filled by your best school friends and your favourite teachers when you were about to bid farewell to your school, then it opens a quest to search for your long lost friends. You may even want to reunite with your classmates. Imagine, you are traveling in a Metro or shopping in a mall and suddenly you bump into an old buddy with whom you have been planning to meet for long, then you suddenly feel elated. Once, it happened with me and I was so happy at that time. The moment was incomparable. As we climb the ladder of stages, we realize that the torture of incessant exam giving is over, the excruciating indecisiveness about which career to choose has ended. With the passage of time, we get the kind of job that we love and become habitual, stable and consistent in that routine. We realize that we are making new discoveries every day; nothing seems impossible and the world becomes our oyster. Now-a-days, we all have become so busy with our 24/7 demanding professions that there is hardly anytime left for socializing. The highly competitive nature of our jobs has restricted our lives from office to home and vice versa. Do you even remember when was the last time you talked to your childhood friend? Most probably, the answer will be a ‘no’. But, there is not much to worry. All thanks to the widely spreading trend of social networking websites like Orkut, Facebook etc… They help us tremendously in staying connected to our good old buddies. But, the charm of meeting our school friends by arranging small get-togethers is incomparable. So, just lose yourself for a while in the memories of the past. It will surely leave you with imprints of a naughty smile! So, that’s why- for the moment, at least - my adolescence decade gets the vote for the best time of my life.